FOREWORD

man is placed in a free environment to find out who proves himself to be the best in conduct. (67:2) God, Who directs the course of this history while maintaining human freedom, will ultimately bring the world to an end on Doomsday. Subsequently, in God’s eyes, those who made proper use of the freedom granted to them will be set apart from those who made wrongful use of their freedom. One who realizes God in this world of test, submits to Him, and lives a God-oriented life will be held deserving of God’s highest blessings, that is, Paradise. God wants man to be made aware of this reality. To select the deserving candidates for Paradise, the first arrangement made by the Creator was to inculcate in human nature the ability to identify right from wrong in the form of one’s conscience. This reality has been expressed in the Quran: After creating man, God “inspired him to understand what was right and wrong for him.” (91:8) This guidance of human nature to tell right from wrong is like an unspoken admonition. Every man and woman has a conscience that guides him from birth, albeit in a silent language. Along with this, the Creator arranged for spoken guidance to be given to humanity. By this arrangement,